my reverse lights quit...

[GardenBeast]

i checked fuses, i even pulled ALL of them, just to be sure, as i dont have an owners manual, or idea what fuse does what.

checked the bulbs, both are good, and contacts are clean.

what controls them, though? where is the 'switch' that turns them on when i pop it in reverse?

[I got it, Yes!!]

is this an auto or a stick?

One thing you can do if it is a stick is find the connector by the gearshift. jumper the connector with a piece of wire. if the back up lights come on(with the ignition on) this tells you its the switch on the tranny or the wires up to that connector(which isnt much)

[guategordon]

Same thing with an auto. You probably have a problem with the switch on the gear selector.

[X Mon]

Switch on the 5spds is on the passengers side of the transmission. They are known to eventually take on MTF/ATF from the transmission and short out internally. Even if they test good out of the car, they can be bad. Do be carefully not to over torque if you change the switch, as they are soft aluminum and break easily.

[GardenBeast]

i see some wires going into the rubber grommet dealie that the shift lever sits in, from inside the car... i shoulda taken a pic. my e36 has no wires running like that.

i think my car may have been a tranny swap, too.

[Shadow86325e]

sounds like the switch went out, check the wiring, get a test light and connect the leads together, the lights should turn on.

if not, you have bigger problems.

[GardenBeast]

sounds like the switch went out, check the wiring, get a test light and connect the leads together, the lights should turn on.

if not, you have bigger problems.

bigger problems? haha. like what?

where is the switch? does anyone have a pic of what i'm looking for, or at least a ball park area?

[e24mpwr]

Pull the shift boot and look for the connector there. Make sure everything looks straight. Otherwise, get under the car and look on the passenger's side for two wires coming out at the top of the tranny. You might want to pull them, carefully clean them off and plug them firmly but gently back in.

[cirrusblau325i]

For my car, I had both a bad reverse switch (MT) AND bad wiring between the connector and the tail lights. I put in a new switch when I did the clutch job, and ran a new wire to the tails shortly after and it's been working great since.

To test the switch, pull the shift boot, disconnect the connector, put the tranny in reverse and check for continuity with a multimeter. If you've got continuity, your switch (and the wires going from the tranny to the connector) are good. If not, get under the car and check for continuity at the switch. If that's good, you've prob got a broken wire.

Then, check that you've got +12V on one of the leads on the main harness side of the connector, and you should also have continuity to ground on the other side (through the reverse lamps), assuming your lamps are installed and not burnt out.

Just go step by step and eliminate the possibilities for where the electric failure occured. If you don't already have the ETM, or a Bentley, it might help to get one of them for the schematics.

[Shadow86325e]

bigger problems? haha. like what?

electrical problems where you have to tear the hell out of everything to finf the source

[BimmerHacks]

this just happened 2 me so this post is PRO timing

[Naplm00]

my car had this issue

i replaced the trans switch on the side of my manual, without issue


it works fine now

got the switch at napa for $12 bucks

[BimmerHacks]

is the switch on the passenger side even if ur car is RHD?

[Shadow86325e]

is the switch on the passenger side even if ur car is RHD?

I dont know but I'd check your driver side just in case.

is first gear on the right or on the left in the order? if it's to the right then I'd say yes, it's on your RHD driver's side.
otherwise, same place as the rest of the world.

[Timmah318]

No, its on the drivers side - I've just been under my car checking mine (aussie car)

[bslacker]

Thx for the help. I had a cut wire under my shift boot.

[x68monkeyx]

yeah my reverse lights dont work either....what you gonna do lol